If you prefer to ease into gigabit networking (and your network needs aren't too demanding), giving your server a fast connection to the rest of the network is a smart start. The $300 (street) D-Link DES-1009G is intended for exactly this type of application. Plug the server into the single 1,000-Mbps port and plug your other systems, hubs, and switches into the eight 10/100 ports. There is also a single uplink port for expansion. The box has its power switch on the back and measures 1.7 by 11 by 7 inches (HWD). All ports and status lights are located on the front. We used the DES-1009G with the 10/100/1,000-compatible D-Link DGE-500T gigabit adapter ($100 street).

The DGE-500T comes with drivers for Windows 98SE, 2000, Me, and NT 4.0 or higher. We confirmed that the adapter worked by installing it in a Windows 98SE-based PC, loading the driver, and connecting the system to an older NetGear hub, which properly detected the card as a 100-Mbps device. We then plugged that PC into the DES-1009G, which recognized the card as a 1,000-Mbps device. The switch requires no installation; you just plug in your network devices and get to work. The $300 price for the D-Link switch is a relatively inexpensive starting point for gigabit networking.

Gigabit Without Gigabucks

Bruce Brown, a PC Magazine Contributing Editor, is a former truck driver, aerobics instructor, high school English teacher, therapist, and adjunct professor (gypsy) in three different fields (Computing, Counseling, and Education) in the graduate departments of three different colleges and universities (Wesleyan University , St. Joseph College, and the University of Hartford). In the fall of 1981 he was bitten by the potentials of personal computing and conspired to leave the legitimacy of academia for a life absorbed in computer stuff. In the fall of 1982...
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